All About Us: When the days Warm Up

I'm playing a little bit of catch up after neglecting the blog for a while. We have been loving the warm weather and all the adventures that have come with it.

One day for our co-op preschool the kids were able to see a firetruck and some firemen were there to answer their questions. But that wasn't the exciting part. The creek by the firetruck was so much better. I hadn't planned for water so I just took off the kids' pants and they had a blast.

I work with the Young Women at my church and each year they have a fundraiser to raise money for Girls' Camp. This year we decided to do a yard sale. I left to set up on Friday afternoon when Tanner got done early with work and was gone until late at night. Tanner took the kids grocery shopping, made them dinner, and put them to bed. And then on Saturday I left bright and early in the morning and didn't get back until dinnertime. Tanner took the kids to a health fair at the mall where they got all kinds of toys and prizes and their faces painted. When I got home Tanner had already made dinner and was getting the kids out of the bath. The man is a keeper.

On another preschool day we went to WVU's farm days. The kids had so much fun, especially holding the chicks. They may be city slickers but at least they aren't afraid of the animals.

We have loved living an hour from Grandpa and Grandma Crossley but we knew that eventually they would be moving. We "helped" with some of the moving. But truthfully when I say we I really mean Tanner because I wasn't much help with three kids. After Grandpa and Grandma were out of their house they came and stayed at our house for a week. It was so wonderful to spend some time with them before they left. One day they took the kids and I to the Aviary in Pittsburgh. The kids had so much fun with all the different birds. The penguins and a big blue Macaw were some of their favorites. They also got to see a sloth up close and watch it eat and see some big ol' bats.

Mariah and Chet were each picked to try to feed birds from their hands but the birds weren't interested that day. Chet was so cute holding up his sardine. He was so serious about it all and when his arm started to get tired he used his other arm to hold it up. Austin even loved looking at all the birds and only cried for a little bit when a very territorial little bird pecked him.

The night before Grandpa and Grandma left, Mariah came out of her bedroom and asked if she could snuggle with Grandma for a little while. Then she started to cry and grandma started to cry and I started to cry. It was a sad but special moment. Then we told Mariah about the family reunion and she has been counting down the days. We have missed them but are so grateful for the time we were able to spend with them.

One day when Tanner got done at 3 we headed up to Coopers Rock for a little hike.

We are our happiest when we are outside, so we spend a lot of time outside.

On memorial day the kids and I headed out to Chestnut Ridge for a birthday party. While turning someone ended rear ending us. The back windshield was knocked out and our back bumper was pretty smashed. After trading insurance information we headed up to the party. The car could still drive and Tanner was working that day so I figured the show must go on. And I'm so glad I didn't head back home because it was such a fun day.

Many salamanders were caught. At the end of the day when we were leaving Mariah insisted that all of the salamanders were set free. The other kids at the pond didn't dare debate with her.

Austin's favorite part of the day was the chocolate cake.

Tanner met up with us at the campground to check on the car and make sure we could make it home. I really wanted to do something for Memorial Day so after the party we went to a cemetery by our house and tried to find the graves with American flags by them. We talked about the meaning of the holiday and how grateful we were for the soldiers who have fought for our country. And then we found a gravestone of someone who fought in the American Revolution. It was so cool!